Lake Forest High grad Vince Vaughn was back in the Chicago area last weekend — both to participate in the “Polar Plunge” fundraiser for Special Olympics and to promote his new film, “Unfinished Business” (opening Friday).
In the movie, Vaughn plays a small businessman who heads to Berlin with two associates in the hopes of finalizing a deal that will ensure the future of his fledgling company. The unlikely trio includes veteran actor Tom Wilkinson, as a longtime colleague, plus Dave Franco as Mike Pancake, a sweet yet somewhat dim-witted new hire.
Since Vaughn’s fictional Apex Select company in the movie is a sales-driven operation, I asked the actor what kind of salesman he’d be if he had to do it for real.
“I don’t know! I’ve previously played some characters who were in sales and things like that, but I don’t know if I’d be very good at that,” said Vaughn. “I got into acting because I kind of just loved the arts. I wasn’t musically gifted or anything like that — and so I got into acting. I don’t know what else I’d do, if I hadn’t found my calling as an actor. Of course, if that hadn’t happened, I would have got a job and gone to work, but I don’t know if sales would have been for me.”
Vaughn noted that his father had been a salesman and added that “sales is a very hard job. You’re getting up every day and going out and trying to tap dance a little bit and get people to buy your stuff. In that sense, I guess acting would play a part in that career too.”
Off the set, Vaughn and his “Unfinished Business” cast bonded as pals and had a few laughs. One night they all went out for an evening that merged karaoke with bowling . “Sienna [Miller] and James Marsden sang a duet — and it was incredible, because they could actually sing,” he said. “I participated only by having some drinks and laughs with them — but no karaoke for me! I did not get up on stage and sing. But Sienna and James were so good, they looked like a traveling team that had done this before.”
Yet, the biggest surprise of the evening was yet to come: watching Tom Wilkinson at the bowling alley.
“He’s a great bowler,” said Vaughn with obvious admiration in his voice. “He has a great capacity for it. We threw the rock a little bit and had some fun. That was a good night.”
He’s sure Wilkinson, a two-time Oscar winner, could hold his own in Chicago’s very competitive bowling leagues. “Besides, I think he would look good in one of those shirts!”
Vaughn’s “Unfinished Business” is clearly very family-focused — leading me to ask him if his own recent marriage and entry into the world of fatherhood had had an impact on his acting.
“Yes, I think so. My getting married and having kids has frankly been more of a focus than my career the last five years. I’ve been working and doing stuff, but I think whatever goes on in your personal life directly affects your choices and how you approach things in all aspects of your life, including your professional life.”
Speaking of that professional life, Vaughn is also delighted with being part of the new season of “True Detective.”
“I was such a fan of the first story [with Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson]. They kind of used eight episodes to tell the story — and then that was it. This season it’s the same thing with Colin Farrell, myself and Rachel McAdams, who I obviously had worked with on ‘Wedding Crashers.’
“For me, as an actor who’s done a lot of comedy recently, it was fun to go back and do something dramatic. I feel like I’ve been wanting to mix it up. The material for ‘True Detective’ is so good — it’s the perfect way for me to mix it up now.”
